Rowing was held up in one of yesterday’s (June 14) bumps races when one of the coxes was hit on the back by an opponent’s oar.

An ambulance was sent to Fen Road to help a woman in her 20s who had suffered back injuries after being hit by an oar during the race. ‘Bumping’ is a form of boat racing that evolved on the Cam during the 1820s out of necessity – the twists and turns along the river mean that more traditional side-by-side regattas are not possible, so crews “bump” each other to gain points.

Marion Colthorpe, who lives nearby, said: "There was a serious accident in the first race of the afternoon.

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"The prow went right into the back of the cox, and I believe it hit her two or three times. Everything had to be held up for half an hour while an ambulance was called.”

A spokesman for the East of England Ambulance Service Trust said: “We were called at 2.15pm to reports of an incident in Fen Road. It seems a woman in her 20s had been hit in the back by an oar while she was in a boat.